SHAWNEE – The Oklahoma Baptist men's and women's track & field teams opened their indoor season at the Boo Rogers combined events and Crimson & Gold Invitational on the campus of Pittsburg State this weekend.
OBU posted 16 top-10 finishes, highlighted by 10 on the men's side.
Headlining the men's action was Isaiah Willis' win in the long jump-invite. Willis met the NCAA DII provisional mark with a career-best 7.52m (24' 8.25") leap. It is the second-furthest jump in Division II after two weeks of indoor action.
Three others, Matthew Higdon, Trey Bartholomew and Jonathan Elix also placed in the top five in Saturday's field events.
Higdon's 18.59m (61' 0") toss in the weight throw earned fifth place and easily cleared the NCAA provisional mark of 17.98m (58'-11.75"). Both freshman, Bartholomew and Elix placed third after matching leaps of 2.05m (6' 8.75") in the high jump. It also met the provisional mark criteria.
In the track events, Jax Holland (49.36) and Marcus Petersen (49.43) finished sixth and seventh in the 400m dash. Willis made an appearance on the track for a seventh-place finish in the 200m (21.86) before anchoring the 4x400 squad to a third-place finish with a time of 3:15.57.
Completing the foursome were Holland, Petersen, and Jentezen Smith.
Rounding out the men's notables were Trevor Evans, who claimed seventh in the 600-yard dash (1:15.95), and Maxamillian Wheeler, who crossed eighth in the 5000m (14:47.04) race.
For the women, freshman Olivia Tate earned the highest overall finish after taking second in the 200m. Tate's finish (24.76) met the NCAA DII provisional mark and is the 12th fastest time in the nation.
Zoee Weaver claimed fifth in the 600-yard dash (1:30.39), while Kaylen King finished eighth in the 800m run with a time of 2:20.32.
Lastly, in the women's field events were freshman Jamora Horace's third-place finish in the high jump-open (1.65m- 5' 5") and Emily Julian's fifth-place honor in the pole vault. Julian's vault of 3.78m (12' 2.75") was a provisional mark.
OBU will return to Pitt State in 2023 as participants in the Rumble in the Jungle Invitational on Jan. 20. Events will be held inside the Robert W. Plaster Center.
